Currently I am playing on a modern cello made in 2017 by the maker Nathan Slobodkin. I really do think that it is a great instrument to play on, it is a Guarneri model instrument with a one piece willow back and red/brown varnish. To be honest I was not really a fan of modern instruments until I had to look for one to replace my previous cello which had an unfortunate accident. However during my search I have really come to appreciate and enjoy fiddling around and playing modern instruments whenever I get a chance. I still do prefer an older instrtument but modern instruments can really compete head on with their older counterparts. 

Although I really enjoy playing on this cello there is one aspect of it that I found to be its Achilles heel, the A string. The D, G and C strings have a nice warm tone to them but as soon as you get to the A string, it feels like the A string is in its rebellious teen years and just refuse to work nicely with the other strings. The sound is so different and bright and almost twangy at times that it sometimes feels like I am playing on 2 different instruments. This has nothing to do with the maker or the quality of the instrument but it seems to be the personality of the instrument. 

This is where I had wished a company like SoundBox was around in order to help me find what strings work for my cello. Trying strings is always such a gamble since you can never really know what works for your instrument until actually try using the string.

Anyway, after resolving myself to putting down money to try something new I had one more hard decision to make, what brand of strings should I try? I was actually torn between using the Versum Soloist set and the newer Rondo strings. I had heard from some colleagues and from other musicians that the Rondo strings were a really great set if you are looking for a little more warmth and color to your sound and boy did they not disappoint. I ended up buying the Rondos but I bought the whole set, not just the A string. On my previous instrument I was using 4 different brands of strings to get the sound I was looking for. Luckily the Rondo strings work well together so I dont have to use a different brand for each string.

After I got the strings in the mail I of course put on the A string first. The sound from the first stroke told me that I found "the one." In order to warm up the sound I had also tried the Larsen Il Cannone Warm and Broad set, and while I do really like them and may go back to using them, I found that the Rondo strings were just a better fit for my cello. The A string is warm but clear and the response is fairly quick. Spec wise they do seem to be slightly higher tension than the Larsen Il Cannone strings but the difference is negligible. 

One thing about the Rondo set on my specific instrument and possibly some others is that the D string is a little brighter than other strings. I found that using a Jargar D with Rondo A, G and C strings is a good balance on my instrument.